MP

Craig Wallace (ALP) since 2004. Minister for Main Roads, Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure.

Profile

Thuringowa is a Townsville based electorate that covers the areas to the west and south of Townsville. It includes the suburbs of Alice River and parts of Deeragun to the west of Townsville, as well as a string of southern suburbs along the Ross River as it snakes around Mount Stuart, including Thuringowa Central, Condon, Rasmussen, Kelso and parts of Kirwan.

Background

Thuringowa was first contested at the 1986 election when it was won by Labor's Ken McElligott. When he announced his intention to retire at the 1998 election, Labor attempts to choose a new candidate descended into farce. Labor pre-selected Karen Erhmann, but after she was charged with electoral fraud relating to her pre-selection contest (she was later convicted), McElligott agreed to re-contest the seat. However, McElligott's vote fell to just 35.1%, leading One Nation's Ken Turner by only 58 votes, Turner going on to win easily after the distribution of Liberal and National Party preferences. Erhmann's sentencing statement, which indicated that electoral fraud was common practice in parts of the Labor Party, prompted the CJC's Shepherdson Inquiry which was to cause so much harm to the Beattie government at the end of its first term in office.

Turner, a former part-time Santa Claus, later joined the flood of resignations from One Nation and contested the 2001 election as an Independent, polling creditably but unable to haul in Labor's primary vote lead. Labor's Anita Phillips won in 2001, but she stepped aside from Thuringowa ahead of the 2004 election to unsuccessfully contest Herbert at the 2004 Federal election. Craig Wallace was elected as the new Labor MP at the 2004 state election, increasing his margin by 9.1% in 2006, but suffering an 8.4% swing against him in 2009.

2010 Federal Election Results

Thuringowa is mainly contained in the LNP-held Federal electorate of Herbert. It would have had an LNP majority with 55.3% of the 2-party preferred vote based on 2010 results.

2012 BALLOT PAPER (5 Candidates)

Candidate Name

Party

TODESCHINI, Steve

The Australian Party

WILLIAMS, Bernie

The Greens

BRITTON, Adrian

Family First Party

WALLACE, Craig

Australian Labor Party

COX, Sam

LNP

CANDIDATES

Steve Todeschini

Katter's Australian Party

Contested Townsville as an Independent at the 2009 election, polling 5.8%.

42 year-old Wallace is a former Townsville City Council employee and worked as the executive assistant for Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney. His father was the Labor candidate for Burdekin at the 1989 state election. Wallace was first elected at the 2004 election when sitting MP Anita Phillips chose to contest that year's Federal election. Wallace was appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland in November 2006. After the 2009 election Wallace became Minister for Main Roads, with responsibility for Fisheries and Marine Infrastructure added in the February 2011 re-shuffle. Wallace's father Don was the Labor candidate for Burdekin at the 1989 state election.

47 year-old Cox grew up on Inkerman Station on the Burdekin River. He finished school as a boarder in Brisbane before attending Gatton Agricultural College. He worked in various agricultural and rural industry occupations before moving to Townsville in 1999 and buying the Brookehaven Holiday Units on Magnetic Island in 2006. Since returning to the mainland 18 months ago he has worked in Real Estate in both rural and commercial sales.